About universities, curiosity and self-confidence
Professor Ian McFarland (Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge
University) was interviewed for the "Church Times" (20th April 2018) and
commented about university education. He made a point which is
relevant to operational research scientists ... as well as his divinity
students:
Obviously university training provides lots of technical expertise in various fields, all of which help society to run, but what distinguishes a university from a technical school is a vision of intellectual engagement beyond simply training in a specialism. Universities, at their best, train people to be curious about what they don't know and self-confident about engaging with new ideas. I worry that this distinctive dimension of university education is increasingly being eclipsed by a view of university as little more than advanced job training.
So, if you are involved with O.R.:
Obviously university training provides lots of technical expertise in various fields, all of which help society to run, but what distinguishes a university from a technical school is a vision of intellectual engagement beyond simply training in a specialism. Universities, at their best, train people to be curious about what they don't know and self-confident about engaging with new ideas. I worry that this distinctive dimension of university education is increasingly being eclipsed by a view of university as little more than advanced job training.
So, if you are involved with O.R.:
- are you curious about what you don't know?
- are you self-confident about engaging with new ideas?
- and what would you add as essentials for doing O.R.?
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